U.N. to Expand Iraq Mission Despite Protest

Posted on Aug 8, 2007

The Security Council is set to approve an expansion of the U.N.‘s presence in Iraq. Meanwhile, the organization’s staff association, representing thousands of employees around the globe, voted unanimously to oppose the measure and recall U.N. workers already in Baghdad.

Guardian:

The UN insisted today that it can go ahead in spite of staff opposition and would be able to find people to fill the new posts.

President George Bush is pressing the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to beef up the UN operation in Iraq. The UN scaled back in 2003, after a bomb killed its envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 other staff at its Baghdad headquarters.

The security council resolution will widen the UN role to cover a range of issues from border security to political reconciliation and rehabilitation of former combatants.